Refrigerator

ABSTRACT

A refrigerator is disclosed. The present invention includes a body having at least one storage space, a door mounted to the body to selectively open/close the storage space, at least one rail part provided to a backside of the door, and a basket assembly including a basket and a sliding module guided along the rail part together with the basket, the sliding module to be selectively fixed to the rail part by a lever.

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(a), this application claims the benefit ofearlier filing date and right of priority to Korean Application Nos.10-2010-0069801, filed on Jul. 20, 2010 and 10-2010-0069802 filed onJul. 20, 2010, the contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a refrigerator. Although the presentinvention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it isparticularly suitable for low temperature storage of food.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Generally, a refrigerator is a device for enabling low temperaturestorage of the stored stuff to keep food fresh for a long time. In therefrigerator, the stuff is kept in a manner of adjusting a state of achill in accordance with a state of the stuff to be kept.

The chill supplied into a refrigerator is generated from the heatexchange reaction of refrigerant. In particular, the chill iscontinuously supplied to an internal space of the refrigerator by therepeated execution of a cycle consisting of compression, condensation,expansion and evaporation. The supplied chill is evenly distributed tothe internal space of the refrigerator by convection to enable food tobe stored in the refrigerator at a desired temperature.

Refrigerators may be classified into a normal type refrigerator, aside-by-side type refrigerator, a bottom freezer type refrigerator andthe like in accordance with the configuration of a freezer compartmentand a cold refrigerator.

Regarding the configuration of the normal type refrigerator, a freezercompartment is situated at an upper part of the refrigerator and a coldcompartment is situated at a lower part of the refrigerator. Regardingthe configuration of the side-by-side type refrigerator, a freezercompartment and a cold compartment are laterally arranged side by side.

The bottom freezer type refrigerators are widely used in U.S.A, Europeand the like. Regarding the configuration of the bottom freezer typerefrigerator, a cold compartment, which is larger than a coldcompartment, is situated at an upper part of the refrigerator and afreezer compartment is situated to a lower part of the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, a refrigerator includes a body having at least one storagespace for low temperature storage and a door rotatably attached to thebody to selectively open/close the storage space.

Regarding the configuration of the body, while an inner case is arrangedwithin an outer case, a space between the outer case and the inner caseis filled up with a heat insulator for the insulation between a spacefor cold storage or frozen storage and an external space. And, aplurality of shelves are loaded in the inner case.

Recently, various functions are applied to a refrigerator for user'sconvenience in using the refrigerator. In order to implement suchfunctions, the door is provided with a home bar for facilitatingreception and storage of food or food containers to some extent or aplurality of baskets are provided to a backside of the door.

In particular, a plurality of the baskets may be provided to thebackside of the door in a manner of being spaced apart from each otherby maintaining a prescribed space in-between. And, each of the basketsis generally fixed to the backside of the door. However, since a heightof each of the baskets and a space between two neighboring baskets arefixed, the basket configuration of the related art has difficulty inmeeting a height of a storage container or user's convenience inreception.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a refrigerator thatsubstantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations anddisadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator, bywhich a position of a basket may be adjusted in accordance with a heightof a storage container or user's convenience in reception.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator, bywhich lateral looseness of a basket may be prevented in the course ofadjusting a position of the basket.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator, bywhich user's convenience may be enhanced using a lever structure inconsideration of a user's user interface.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator, bywhich a basket may be prevented from being separated in the course ofreceiving food.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator, bywhich a basket may be easily detached for cleaning.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator,by which rigidity of a basket may be raised with fancy exterior.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of theinvention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may berealized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in thewritten description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, arefrigerator according to the present invention includes a body havingat least one storage space, a door mounted to the body to selectivelyopen/close the storage space, at least one rail part provided to abackside of the door, and a basket assembly having a basket and asliding module guided along the rail part together with the basket, thesliding module to be selectively fixed to the rail part by a lever.

Preferably, the sliding module includes a slide body, a rolling partprovided to one side of the slide body to be received in the rail part,and a lever part rotatably mounted to the slide body.

More preferably, the lever part includes a lever rotatably mounted tothe slide body, the lever having an insertion portion configured to beselectively inserted in the rail part and a handle portion formanipulation of a turning motion and an elastic member configured toapply an elastic force to the lever in a direction of pressurizing therail part.

More preferably, if a pressurizing force is applied to the lever, thelever part moves along the rail part. If the pressurizing is removedfrom the lever, the lever part is inserted in the rail part.

And, a stopper configured to enable the turning motion of the levertoward the rail part within a prescribed turning angle range is providedto the slide body.

Moreover, a plurality of insertion holes configured to receive theinsertion portion are provided to the rail part in a height direction.

More preferably, the rolling part includes a projection part configuredto be received in the rail part.

More preferably, the rolling part includes at least one roller.

More preferably, the rolling part includes a first roller and a secondroller spaced apart from the first roller in a width direction of therail part.

In this case, a width of the rail part is greater than that of each ofthe first roller and the second roller.

And, a plurality of first and second rollers are provided along a lengthdirection of the rail part. Moreover, the second roller is arrangedbetween a pair of the first rollers adjacent to each other.

More preferably, the rail part includes a pair of rails arranged in amanner of being spaced apart from each other with a prescribed spacein-between, each of a pair of the rails has a plurality of insertionholes and a guide portion formed along a length direction, and thesliding module is provided to each of both sides of the basket.

Preferably, the basket includes a mounting rib configured to have thesliding module loaded thereon and a basket body configured to bedetachably received in the mounting rib.

More preferably, the mounting rib is formed of metal substance.

More preferably, the basket body includes an insertion part configuredto be received in the mounting rib and a deco part configured to beexternally exposed and a boundary between the insertion part and thedeco part is stepped in a manner that a cross-section area of the decopart is greater than that of the insertion part.

In this case, an outer circumference of the insertion part adheresclosely to an inner circumference of the mounting rib and the steppedboundary is mounted to an upper surface of the mounting rib.

More preferably, a hanging part configured to have the mounting ribloaded thereon is provided to each of both lateral sides of the backsideof the door and a projection part configured to be fitted into thehanging part is provided to each of both lateral sides of the mountingrib.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present invention areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of thepresent invention will become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description of preferred embodiments, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawing figures. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram of a refrigerator having a door open inpart according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective diagram for details of a refrigeratoraccording to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective diagram of a basket assembly shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective diagram of a sliding module shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional diagram for describing position adjustmentof a basket shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective diagram for details of a refrigeratoraccording to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective diagram of a basket assembly shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective diagram of a sliding module shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional diagram for describing position adjustmentof a basket shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective diagram of a basket assembly of arefrigerator according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a perspective diagram of an assembled configuration ofcomponents of the basket assembly shown in FIG. 10; and

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective diagram of the basket assembly shownin FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawing figures which form a part hereof, and which show byway of illustration specific embodiments of the invention. It is to beunderstood by those of ordinary skill in this technological field thatother embodiments may be utilized, and structural, electrical, as wellas procedural changes may be made without departing from the scope ofthe present invention. Wherever possible, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or similarparts.

In the following description, a refrigerator according to one embodimentof the present invention is explained in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings show exemplaryconfigurations of the present invention for details of the descriptiononly, by which the technical scope of the present invention isnon-limited.

Moreover, the same reference number is given to a same or correspondingcomponent irrespective of drawing numbers and its redundant descriptionshall be omitted. For clarity and convenience of the followingdescription, a size and/or shape of each component shown in the drawingsmay be exaggerated or reduced.

Meanwhile, terminologies including such an ordinal number as first,second and the like are usable in describing various components. Yet,the components are non-limited by the terminologies. And, theterminologies are just used to discern one component from othercomponents.

FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram of a refrigerator having a door open inpart according to one embodiment of the present invention.

First of all, a refrigerator 1 according to one embodiment of thepresent invention is applicable to all refrigerator types (e.g., ageneral type, a side-by-side type, a bottom freezer type, etc.), andmore particularly, to a refrigerator including at least one body for lowtemperature storage and a door rotatably attached to the body toselectively open/close a storage space. For clarity and convenience, thefollowing description relates to a side-by-side type refrigerator whichis popularly used, and which includes a freezer compartment and a coldcompartment laterally arranged in parallel to be selectivelyopened/closed by a corresponding door.

A refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present inventionincludes a body 40 having at least one storage space 40 for lowtemperature storage, a door 30 rotatably attached to the body 10 toopen/close the storage space 40, and a basket assembly 100 including atleast one rail part (not shown in the drawing) provided to a backside ofthe door 30 and a sliding module (not shown in the drawing) provided toone side of the basket to be guided along the rail part and to beselectively fixed to the rail part by a lever.

Referring to FIG. 1, a refrigerator 1 according to one embodiment of thepresent invention includes a body 10 providing a space and exterior forstoring food and food containers in a sate of low temperature. Inparticular, the body 10 has an approximately rectangular parallelepipedshape. A front side of the body 10 is configured open for reception ofthe food and the food containers. And, the body 10 includes an outercase (not reference-numbered) and at least one inner case (notreference-numbered) loaded within the outer case to provide a storagespace for refrigeration or cold storage or refrigeration of food and thelike.

A door is rotatably attached to the open front side of the body 10 toopen/close selectively. In FIG. 1, a side-by-side type refrigerator isshown. In order to open/close a left storage space or a right storagespace 40 selectively, a first door 20 and a second door 30 are attachedto the body 10.

Recently, various functions are applied to a refrigerator forconvenience in using the refrigerator. In order to implement theconvenient functions, a dispenser 21 may be provided to the first door20 to directly take out purified water or ice to an external space. And,a home bar for receiving and keeping food and/or food containersconveniently to some extent and the like may be further provided to thesecond door 30.

An inner space of the body 10 is partitioned into a left space and aright space. Generally, the left space plays a role as a freezercompartment (not shown in the drawing) for receiving to keep food andfood containers at the temperature below 0° C. and the right space playsa role as a cold compartment 40 for receiving to keep food and foodcontainers at the temperature above 0° C.

In particular, the freezer compartment is used to keep food for a longtime in a manner of keeping the food in the inner space at thetemperature below 0° C. And, the cold compartment 40 is used to keepfood fresh in a manner of keeping the temperature lower than a roomtemperature above 0° C.

A plurality of shelves 41 are provided to an inner space of each of thefreezer compartment and the cold compartment 40. Hence, the inner spaceof each of the freezer compartment and the cold compartment 40 may bepartitioned into a plurality of layers. And, drawer(s) 42 may be furtherprovided to the inner space of each of the freezer compartment and thecold compartment to receive such food as vegetables, fruits and thelike.

At least one basket assembly 100 is provided to a backside of the firstdoor 20 or the second door 30 along a height direction of thecorresponding door 20/30 to receive and keep relatively small foods,drinks and the like. FIG. 1 shows the case that the basket assembly 100is provided to the backside of the second door 30 only. Yet, it is amatter of course that such a basket assembly as shown in FIG. 1 may beprovided to the backside of the first door 20.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective diagram for details of a refrigeratoraccording to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is aperspective diagram of a basket assembly shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is aperspective diagram of a sliding module shown in FIG. 3. And, FIG. 5 isa cross-sectional diagram for describing position adjustment of a basketshown in FIG. 2.

As mentioned in the foregoing description, the objects of the presentinvention are as follows. First of all, a position of a basket may beadjusted in accordance with a height of a storage container or user'sconvenience in reception. Secondly, lateral looseness of a basket may beprevented in the course of adjusting a position of a basket. Thirdly,user's convenience may be enhanced using a lever structure inconsideration of a user's user interface.

A dike 32 is provided to an edge portion of the backside of the seconddoor 30, whereby a basket configured to provide various reception spacesmay be installed at the dike 32. In particular, the dike 32 may beconfigured to substantially have a shape of a rectangular frame. And,the dike 32 may have a structure to support both lateral sides of thehome bar 31 or the basket assembly 100.

The dike 32 may have a rail structure to guide a sliding movement of thebasket assembly 100. In case that a separate rail part 170 for guidingthe basket assembly 100 is provided to the backside of the door 30, thedike 32 may be configured to cover the rail part 170 in order to preventthe rail part 170 from being externally exposed.

In the following description, the case of the rail part 170 separatelyprovided to the backside of the door 30 is explained for example.

Referring to FIG. 2, the rail part 170 may have a bar structureconfigured to extend along a height direction of the backside of thedoor 30. In particular, a pair of rail parts 170 may be provided to thebackside of the door 30 in a manner of being spaced apart from eachother along a width direction of the door 30.

The rail part 170 includes a guide portion 171 provided along the heightdirection and a plurality of insertion holes 172 configured to fix aposition of the basket assembly 100 thereto.

Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the sliding module 130 includes a slidebody 131, a rolling part 140 provided to one side of the slide body 131to be received in the rail part 170, and a lever part 150 rotatablymounted to the slide body 131.

Meanwhile, the basket assembly 100 may include a mounting rib 110 havingthe sliding module 130 loaded thereon and a basket body 120 mounted tothe mounting rib 110 to receive food therein.

In particular, the basket body 120 may have a shape recessed to receiveto food or a reception container for storage of food and may be formedof various kinds of resin.

Optionally, the mounting rib 110 and the basket body 120 may be built inone body or the basket body 120 may be detachably mounted to themounting rib 110, of which details shall be described later.

For clarity and convenience of the following description, the basketbody 110 and the mounting rib 110 shall be called a basket. And, themounting rib 112 and the basket body 112 may have various shapes andassembled structures in consideration of design factors.

The lever part 150 is rotatably mounted to the slide body 131. And, thelever part 150 may include a lever 151 having an insertion portion 152to be selectively inserted in the rail part 170 and a handle part 153for manipulation of a turning motion and an elastic member 154configured to provide an elastic force to the lever 151 in a directionof pressurizing the rail part 170.

The elastic member 154 may be loaded in a manner of enclosing arotational shaft (not reference-numbered) of the lever 151 to becompressed in accordance with a turning of the lever 151. One endportion of the elastic member 154 is fixed to one side of the lever 151and the other end portion of the elastic member 154 may be fixed to oneside of the slide body 131.

In order to enable a turning motion of the insertion portion 152 towardthe rail part 170 within a prescribed turning angle range, a stopper 132may be provided to the slide body 131.

In particular, while a pressurizing force is applied to the lever 151 toface the rail part 170 by the elastic member 154, a position of thelever 151 may be maintained by the stopper 132.

FIG. 5 (a) is a cross-sectional diagram for describing a heightadjustable status of the sliding module 130 along the rail part 170.And, FIG. 5 (b) is a cross-sectional diagram for describing a statusthat the sliding module 130 is fixed to the rail part 170.

Referring to FIG. 5 (a), if a pressurizing force in a direction oppositeto that of the elastic member 154 is applied to the handle part 153 ofthe lever 151 by a user, the insertion portion 152 of the lever 151 maybe separated from the insertion hole 172 of the rail part 170. In doingso, of course, the rolling part 140 of the slide module 130 is arrangedwithin the guide portion of the rail part 170.

Therefore, the user is able to adjust a height of the basket assembly100 while applying the pressurizing force to the handle part 153 of thelever 151.

Referring to FIG. 5 (b), if the basket assembly 100 arrives at a desiredheight, the user is able to release the pressurizing force from thehandle part 153 of the lever 151. If so, the insertion portion 152 ofthe lever 151 is turned toward the rail part 170 by the elastic member154 and is then received in the insertion hole 172 of the rail part 170.Hence, the height may be maintained.

Referring to FIG. 2, the number and positions of the sliding modules 130mounted to the basket may correspond to the number and positions of therail parts 170. In case that a pair of the rail parts 170 are arrangedin a manner of being spaced apart from each other in a width directionof the door 30 by leaving a prescribed space in-between, a pair of thesliding modules 130 may be provided to both sides of the basket. Throughthis structure, when the height of the basket assembly 100 is adjusted,it is able to prevent the lateral looseness or fluctuation.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the rolling part 140 may include atleast one projection to be received in the guide portion 171 of the railpart 170. Moreover, the guide portion 171 and the projection may beconfigured to engage with each other. For instance, if the projection140 of the sliding module 130 has a cross-section of ‘┐’ shape, theguide portion 171 may include a space portion approximately having across-section of ‘└’ shape.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective diagram for details of a refrigeratoraccording to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is aperspective diagram of a basket assembly shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is aperspective diagram of a sliding module shown in FIG. 7. And, FIG. 9 isa cross-sectional diagram for describing position adjustment of a basketshown in FIG. 6.

First of all, a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention includes a body having at least one storage space forlow temperature storage and a door rotatably attached to the body toselectively open/close the storage space.

In this case, the body and the door are identical to the former body andthe former door described with reference to FIG. 1.

Yet, the refrigerator according to the second embodiment differs fromthe former refrigerator according to the first embodiment in the slidingmodule and the rail part only. In the following description, details ofthe common components are omitted and the difference from the firstembodiment is mainly explained.

Referring to FIG. 6, the rail part 270 may have a bar structureconfigured to extend along a height direction of the backside of thedoor 30. In particular, a pair of rail parts 270 may be provided to thebackside of the door 30 in a manner of being spaced apart from eachother along a width direction of the door 30.

The rail part 170 includes a guide portion 271 provided along the heightdirection and a plurality of insertion holes 272 configured to fix aposition of the basket assembly 200 thereto.

Referring to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, a sliding module 230, which constitutesa refrigerator according to the second embodiment, includes a slide body231, a rolling part 240 provided to one side of the slide body 231 to bereceived in the rail part 270, and a lever part 250 rotatably attachedto the slide body 231.

The lever part 250 is rotatably mounted to the slide body 231. And, thelever part 250 may include a lever 251 having an insertion portion 252to be selectively inserted in the rail part 270 and a handle part 253for manipulation of a turning motion and an elastic member 254configured to provide an elastic force to the lever 251 in a directionof pressurizing the rail part 270.

The elastic member 254 may be loaded in a manner of enclosing arotational shaft (not reference-numbered) of the lever 251 to becompressed in accordance with a turning of the lever 251. One endportion of the elastic member 254 is fixed to one side of the lever 251and the other end portion of the elastic member 254 may be fixed to oneside of the slide body 231.

In order to enable a turning motion of the insertion portion 252 towardthe rail part 270 within a prescribed turning angle range, a stopper 232may be provided to the slide body 231.

In particular, while a pressurizing force is applied to the lever 251 toface the rail part 270 by the elastic member 254, a position of thelever 251 may be maintained by the stopper 232.

FIG. 9 (a) is a cross-sectional diagram for describing a heightadjustable status of the sliding module 230 along the rail part 270.And, FIG. 9 (b) is a cross-sectional diagram for describing a statusthat the sliding module 230 is fixed to the rail part 270.

Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 9 (a), if a pressurizing force in adirection opposite to that of the elastic member 254 is applied to thehandle part 253 of the lever 251 by a user, the insertion portion 252 ofthe lever 251 may be separated from the insertion hole 272 of the railpart 270. In doing so, of course, the rolling part 240 of the slidemodule 230 is arranged within the guide portion 271 of the rail part270.

Therefore, the user is able to adjust a height of the basket assembly200 while applying the pressurizing force to the handle part 253 of thelever 251.

Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 9 (b), if the basket assembly 200 arrivesat a desired height, the user is able to release the pressurizing forcefrom the handle part 253 of the lever 251. If so, the insertion portion252 of the lever 251 is turned toward the rail part 270 by the elasticmember 254 and is then received in the insertion hole 272 of the railpart 270. Hence, the height may be maintained.

Referring to FIG. 6, the number and positions of the sliding modules 230mounted to the basket 210 may correspond to the number and loadingpositions of the rail parts 270. In case that a pair of the rail parts270 are arranged in a manner of being spaced apart from each other in awidth direction of the door 30 by leaving a prescribed space in-between,a pair of the sliding modules 230 may be provided to both sides of thebasket 210. Through this structure, when the height of the basketassembly 200 is adjusted, it is able to prevent the lateral looseness orfluctuation.

Referring to FIGS. 6 to 8, the rolling part 240 may include at least oneroller 240 rotatably attached to the slide body 231. And, the roller 240rolls along an inner circumference of the guide portion 271 whilereceived in the guide portion 271 of the rail part 270.

In particular, the rolling part 240 of the second embodiment includesthe at least one roller 240, whereas the former rolling part of thefirst embodiment includes the projection 140.

Meanwhile, the guide portion 271 has a shape, which encloses acircumferential surface of the roller 240, to provide a contact surfacefor rotations of the roller 240. And, the guide portion 271 also has acurved portion 273 corresponding to a shape of the circumferentialsurface of the roller 240 to increase a contact size with the roller240. In order to prevent interference between the roller 240 and thebackside of the door 30 or interference between the door and the railpart 270, the curved portion 273 may be provided to a position spacedapart from the backside from the door 30 with a prescribed spacein-between.

The rolling part 240 may include a first roller 241 and a second roller242 spaced apart from each other with a prescribed space d in a widthdirection of the rail part 270. And, a plurality of the first and secondrollers 241 and 242 may be provided in a length direction (i.e., heightdirection) of the rail part 270.

Regarding the rollers 241 and 242, the second roller may be providedbetween a pair of the first rollers adjacent to each other. And, a widthof the guide portion 271 of the rail part 270 may be greater than thatof each of the first and second rollers 241 and 242.

Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 8, when either the first roller 241 or thesecond roller 242 is mounted to the slide body 231, if the width of theguide portion 271 is equal to that of the corresponding roller, a normalrotation or a reverse rotation may occur in the corresponding roller inaccordance with a movement of the slide body 231. Such a change ofrotation direction causes a movement of the slide body 231 attributed toa sliding of the roller instead of the rotation of the roller. Thus, thesliding of the corresponding roller may interrupt a smooth movement ofthe slide body 231.

Therefore, in order to lead a smooth rotation of each of the rollers, aplurality of the rollers may be arranged in a manner that a first centerline connecting rotational shafts of a plurality of the first rollerstogether is spaced apart from a second center line connecting rotationalshafts of a plurality of the second rollers together.

Meanwhile, the basket 210 may have a recessed shape to receive food orreceptacles for storage of food therein and may be formed of variousresin substance.

Unlike the former basket 110 described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5,the basket 210 of the second embodiment is built in one body. Yet, asmentioned in the foregoing description, the basket assembly 200 of thesecond embodiment differs from the former in the sliding module 230 andthe rail part 270 only. And, it is a matter of course that the basket210 may be a built-in type or a detachable type.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective diagram of a basket assembly of arefrigerator according to a third embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 11 is a perspective diagram of an assembled configuration ofcomponents of the basket assembly shown in FIG. 10. And, FIG. 12 is anexploded perspective diagram of the basket assembly shown in FIG. 11.

The present embodiment provides a refrigerator, by which separation of abasket may be prevented in the course of receiving food and by whichdetachment of the basket is facilitated in the course of cleaning.

In particular, a basket assembly 100 should have difficulty in beingdetached from a backside of a door 30 in the course of food receivingprocess while attached to the backside of the door 30. The basketassembly 100 should have sufficient rigidity. And, the basket assembly100 should have a configuration that facilitates detachment from thebackside of the door 30 for a cleaning process.

Referring to FIGS. 10 to 12, the basket assembly 100 includes a mountingrib 110 provided to a backside of the door 30 and a basket body 120detachably mounted to the mounting rib 110. In particular, the basketassembly 100 configuring the refrigerator 1 according to one embodimentof the present invention separately includes a fixed part (i.e., themounting rib) and a detachable part (i.e., the basket body).

Assembly of the mounting rib 110 and the door 30 is described in detailwith reference to the accompany drawings as follows.

First of all, a dike 32 is provided to an edge portion of the backsideof the door 30, whereby a basket configured to provide various receptionspaces may be mounted to the dike 32. In particular, the dike 32 may beconfigured to substantially have a shape of a rectangular frame. And, aplurality of hanging parts 33 may be provided to both lateral sideportions of the dike 32 in a height direction.

The mounting rib 110 may include a base part having a ring shape and aconnecting part 113 fixed to both lateral side portions of the basestation. And, a projection portion 114 to be fitted into the hangingpart 33 of the dike 32 may be provided to the connecting part 113.

The base part may include a contact portion configured to come intocontact with the backside of the door and a non-contact portion 111configured not to come into contact with the backside of the door. And,it is a matter of course that the base part may have one of variousshapes in consideration of design factors.

For instance, in order to represent a fancy metallic exterior, the basepart may be formed of metal substance. If the base part is formed ofmetal substance, rigidity of the basket assembly 100 may be furtherenhanced.

The projection portion 114 and the hanging part 33 may havecorresponding shapes for the fit-in connection. And, the projectionportion 114 and the hanging part 33 are manufactured to have aprescribed tolerance, thereby being forced to be fitted into each other.

Namely, the mounting rib 110 may be substantially fixed to the backsideof the door 30.

Meanwhile, the basket body 120 may have a recessed shape to receive foodor receptacles for storage of food therein and may be formed of variouskinds of resin substance.

The basket body 120 may be divided into an insertion part 121 to bereceived in the mounting rib 110 and a deco part 122 to be externallyexposed. A boundary portion between the insertion part 121 and the decopart 122 may be stepped in a manner that a cross-sectional area of thedeco part 122 is greater than that of the insertion part 121.

In this case, an outer circumference of the insertion part 121 of thebasket body 120 adheres closely to an inner circumference of themounting rib 100 and the stepped boundary portion 123 of the basket body120 may be mounted to an upper surface of the mounting rib 110.

In particular, the outer circumference of the insertion part 121 of thebasket body 120 closely adheres to an inner circumference of thering-shape base part of the mounting rib 110, while the stepped boundaryportion 123 of the basket body 120 is mounted to an upper surface of thering-shape base part of the mounting rib 110.

When the basket body 120 is loaded, the outer surface of the mountingrib 110 and the outer circumference of the deco part of the basket body120 may be situated in the same plane. Namely, the outer circumferenceof the ring-shape base part of the mounting rib 110 and the outercircumference of the deco part of the basket body 120 forms the sameplane in a loaded state, thereby representing a fancy design.

A first stepped portion 115, in which a width of the contact portion 112is smaller than that of the non-contact portion 111, may be provided toa boundary between the contact portion 112 and the non-contact portion111 of the mounting rib 110.

A second stepped portion 124 may be provided to the basket body 120 toengage with the first stepped portion 115. Therefore, the refrigerator 1according to one embodiment of the present invention increases a contactarea between the basket body 120 and the mounting rib 110, therebyproviding a structure having sufficient rigidity.

Installation and use of the above-configured basket assembly 100 aredescribed in detail as follows.

As mentioned in the foregoing description, the mounting rib 110 of thebasket assembly 100 is fitted into the dike 32 provided to the backsideof the door 30.

In doing so, the hanging part 33 of the dike 32 and the projectionportion 114 of the mounting rib 110 received in the hanging part 33 areprepared to have a prescribed relative tolerance not to be separatedfrom each other in the course of food receiving process. And, thehanging part 33 and the projection portion 114 are configured to beforced to be inserted in the fitting process by the tolerance.Therefore, sufficient rigidity may be provided not to facilitateseparation relatively.

Thereafter, the basket body 120 may be mounted to the mounting rib 110.Alternatively, while the basket body 120 is mounted to the mounting rib110, the mounting rib 110 may be mounted to the backside of the door 30.For convenience of installation, after the mounting rib 110 has beenmounted to the backside of the door 300, the basket body 120 ispreferably mounted to the mounting rib 110.

In this case, in order to represent a fancy exterior, the outercircumference of the basket body 120 and the outer circumference of themounting rib 110 may form the same plane. For metallic effect ofexterior and rigidity reinforcement, the mounting rib 110 may be formedof metal substance.

In order to increase a contact area in-between, the basket body 120 andthe mounting rib 110 may have a multi-stepped structure for mutualengagement. Therefore, if the basket body 120 is loaded, it is a matterof course that sufficient rigidity may be obtained as well as a fancyexterior.

In the course of using the refrigerator, if the basket body 120 needs tobe cleaned, the basket body 120 may be detached wile the mounting rib110 is fixed to the backside of the door.

Accordingly, the present invention provides the following effects and/oradvantages.

First of all, according to at least one of embodiments of the presentinvention, a position of a basket may be adjusted in accordance with aheight of a storage container or user's convenience in reception.

Secondly, according to at least one of embodiments of the presentinvention, lateral looseness or fluctuation of a basket may be preventedin the course of adjusting a position of the basket.

Thirdly, according to at least one of embodiments of the presentinvention, user's convenience may be enhanced using a lever structure inconsideration of a user's user interface.

Fourthly, according to at least one of embodiments of the presentinvention, a basket may be prevented from being separated in the courseof receiving food.

Fifthly, according to at least one of embodiments of the presentinvention, a basket may be easily detached for cleaning.

Sixthly, according to at least one of embodiments of the presentinvention, rigidity of a basket may be raised with fancy exterior.

Finally, according to at least one of embodiments of the presentinvention, the present invention is able to represent a fancy exterior.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments may be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in thecomponent parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

1. A refrigerator comprising: a body having at least one storage space;a door mounted to the body to selectively open/close the storage space;at least one rail part provided to a backside of the door; and a basketassembly including a basket and a sliding module guided along the railpart together with the basket, the sliding module to be selectivelyfixed to the rail part by a lever.
 2. The refrigerator of claim 1, thesliding module comprising: a slide body; a rolling part provided to theslide body to be received in the rail part; and a lever part rotatablymounted to the slide body.
 3. The refrigerator of claim 2, the leverpart comprising: a lever rotatably mounted to the slide body, the leverincluding an insertion portion to be selectively inserted in the railpart and a handle portion for manipulation of a turning motion; and anelastic member to apply an elastic force to the lever in a direction ofpressurizing the rail part.
 4. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein if apressurizing force is applied to the lever, the lever part moves alongthe rail part and wherein if the pressurizing is removed from the lever,the lever part is inserted in the rail part.
 5. The refrigerator ofclaim 3, wherein a stopper to enable the turning motion of the levertoward the rail part within a prescribed turning angle range is providedto the slide body.
 6. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein a pluralityof insertion holes to receive the insertion portion are provided to therail part in a height direction.
 7. The refrigerator of claim 2, whereinthe rolling part comprises a projection part to be received in the railpart.
 8. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the rolling part comprisesat least one roller.
 9. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the rollingpart comprises a first roller and a second roller spaced apart from thefirst roller in a width direction of the rail part.
 10. The refrigeratorof claim 9, wherein a width of the rail part is greater than that ofeach of the first roller and the second roller.
 11. The refrigerator ofclaim 9, wherein a plurality of first and second rollers are providedalong a length direction of the rail part.
 12. The refrigerator of claim11, wherein the second roller is arranged between a pair of the firstrollers adjacent to each other.
 13. The refrigerator of claim 2, whereinthe rail part comprises a pair of rails arranged in a manner of beingspaced apart from each other with a prescribed space in-between, whereineach of a pair of the rails has a plurality of insertion holes and aguide portion formed along a length direction, and wherein the slidingmodule is provided to each of both sides of the basket.
 14. Therefrigerator of claim 1, the basket comprises: a mounting rib configuredto have the sliding module loaded thereon; and a basket body configuredto be detachably received in the mounting rib.
 15. The refrigerator ofclaim 14, wherein the mounting rib is formed of metal substance.
 16. Therefrigerator of claim 14, wherein the basket body comprises an insertionpart configured to be received in the mounting rib and a deco partconfigured to be externally exposed and wherein a boundary between theinsertion part and the deco part is stepped in a manner that across-section area of the deco part is greater than that of theinsertion part.
 17. The refrigerator of claim 16, wherein an outercircumference of the insertion part adheres closely to an innercircumference of the mounting rib and the stepped boundary is mounted toan upper surface of the mounting rib.
 18. The refrigerator of claim 14,wherein a hanging part configured to have the mounting rib loadedthereon is provided to each of both lateral sides of the backside of thedoor and a projection part configured to be fitted into the hanging partis provided to each of both lateral sides of the mounting rib.